Hawks trade Tiago Splitter, draft assets to Sixers for Ersan Ilyasova
Tiago Splitter’s injury-marred time in Atlanta amounted to 36 total games. The Hawks traded the veteran big man, one second-round draft pick and draft-swap rights to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night in exchange for swingman Ersan Ilyasova.
The Hawks are sending the second-round selection they acquired from the Miami Heat acquired in the James Ennis trade during the 2013 NBA Draft while, essentially, swapping their own 2017 second-round pick for Golden State's 2017 second-round pick, a pick owned by the Sixers.
Ilyasova, a 6-foot-10 shooter, has become a de facto journeyman in recent seasons, but he projects to be a useful bench piece for president of basketball operations and head coach Mike Budenholzer.
"We are excited to welcome Ersan, and his family, to the Atlanta Hawks. He’s a high-character, proven veteran who we’ve liked for many years and believe fits well within our system,” Budenholzer said. "We also want to thank Tiago for his contributions on and off the court. We wish him all the best in the future.”
Hours after general manager Wes Wilcox announced the Hawks expected to be buyers at Thursday's deadline, the franchise flipped an inactive piece for a 29-year-old shooting 36.7 percent from the outside over 583 career games.
Ilyasova, who has played for five teams over the past three seasons, including both Philadelphia and Oklahoma City this season, averaged 14.8 points and 5.9 rebounds for the Sixers while playing 27 minutes per night. Ilyasova should provide more quality minutes behind Hawks All-Star Paul Millsap — filling a major need (backup four) for Budenholzer this season.
Ilyasova will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. He will wear No. 7 for the Hawks.
Splitter was a useful piece early last season for the Hawks, but multiple injuries relegated him to Atlanta's inactive list for most of the past two seasons. The former Spurs center averaged 5.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in a Hawks uniform.
The Hawks sit in the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference exiting the All-Star break.
